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The Korea Academy of Film Arts produces three films under the name of KAFA Film each year. One notable characteristic of this project is that students attending the academy receive mentorship to produce their feature films from industry professionals who are experts in diverse fields. In another words, the program aims to prepare the students and play a part in debuting students as directors. First, the academy selects students for the program through screenplay evaluation. Then, it provides strong support so that the students can complete a production. KAFA has produced some noteworthy works. The list includes Bleak Night (2010) directed by YOON Sung-hyun, INGtoogi: The Battle of Internet Trolls (2013) directed by UM Tae-hwa and Socialphobia directed by HONG Seok-jae. The newest group of three directors from the eighth year or the program is currently busy with post-production after finishing shooting their first feature films. These directors have placed their ideas and passion into their films despite the limited budget of 70 million won per film. Here is a sneak peek at the films directed by three dreamers who long to become star directors in the future. 

 

 

Sometimes, We Are Swayed is a feature film which is an extended version of director LEE Hyun-ju’s short Ordinary Family, which was made during her studies at KAFA. Ordinary Family is a provocative story about a family who only does things that are considered taboo in Korea. This new feature mixes the original short with the story of a homosexual daughter. It tells the love of two women, Yun-ju and Ji-soo. In a way, homosexual relationships have little choice but to be peculiar. However, Sometimes, We Are Swayed is not a propaganda asking others to respect different types of love, it is more about showing the couple just like any other lovers, where they meet, have dinner and sex and part ways.

 

The film was shot in 23 installments from December 18th to January 18th. Main shoots were in Seoul and Incheon, but the location changed time to time to best fit the script. Among them, Ji-su’s studio apartment is a key location where the couple confirms their feelings for each other. Due to the cold temperature of winter, the production staff decided to build the set in the KAFA studio for efficiency while taking into consideration of the working conditions for the actors. Here, the date sequences and sex scenes were shot for four days straight, day and night.

 

 

LEE Sang-hee who plays Yun-ju was previously in director LEE’s Ordinary Family. Ryoo Sun-young who plays Ji-su matched well with LEE Sang-hee, with her bold and unique characteristics. Since the actors had a chance to discuss with the director during the preproduction stage, LEE Hyun-ju directed the film with much respect to the actors’ opinions and gave them room to freely express themselves.

 

“I love films about people. Even if it’s a small story, I like films that people might find curious,” director LEE said. LEE’s first feature Sometimes, We Are Swayed is based on this idea. Since very few Korean films have dealt with such subject matter, Sometimes, We Are Swayed may interest people due to the story about lesbian relationship. But it set its sights on people rather than on a specific case. “I tried many new techniques in several areas and especially in cinematography,” said LEE. “I hope that the film itself will be widely received regardless of its subject matter of lesbian love.” 
 

 

School Girls had the widest and most diverse line of filming trajectory among the works by the directors of the eighth class at KAFA. Locations in Seoul, Paju and Anseong of Gyeonggi Province as well as shoots in Okcheon of North Chungcheong Province fatigued the crew and actors to a great deal. Intense cold weather gripped the nation from December 9th to February 3rd, and actors and crew completed the film while fighting the low temperatures.   

 

School Girls depicts a process where girls fall into a crisis but overcome it through making friends with one another. The film can be categorized as a ‘road movie about high school girls.’ The lead characters cannot help but continue to be on the run due to its many triggers in the story such as the missing mother, stolen money, bloodstains in a room and a group of unidentified men who pertinaciously follow them. In particular, the climax scene was filmed in a pension in Okcheon, North Chungcheong Province. In this scene, the girls stand up to men who are portrayed as villains. Established actors such as MYUNG Kae-nam and PARK Hyuk-kwon make an appearance and gave great performance for the scene.

 

The short films The Night of the Witness (2012) and Intruder earned director PARK Geun-buem attention at domestic and foreign film festivals. His past short films mainly dealt with men in crises whereas his debut feature film focus on two high school girls as heroines just as the title implies. “Usually I am mesmerized by heroines,” PARK said, explaining why he made two main characters female the film. Director PARK created the two lead characters by adding a touch of his imagination to what he gathered through interviews with high school girls and camcorder records. Characters in School Girls, HONG Jin-suk and KIM Eun-young seem to be distant from their community, but inside, they crave for relationships with people. The odd duo who are shunned at school, shares their camaraderie in the face of a crisis.   

 

Then, what kind of films and characters does director PARK like? “I like the crazies,” PARK said. “They are committed to their beliefs although others do not understand them. Also I like situations which can be created by them.” He wanted his film to lead audiences to think, “However corrupt the world is, it is better to live in sync with one another,” like the young heroines in his film, PARK added. 

 

A man dreams about becoming an actor, but it is not so easy to do. He gives up his dream and decides to take up a job where he gets paid to act as friends or family at weddings and events. One day, a client asks him to become a witness to a murder scene. Even though the single lie gets him a great deal of money, it also made an innocent man into a murderer and the client disappears. It is only he that is able to correct this situation. The hero of Bystander resembles the boy who cried wolf in a fairy tale who could not restrain from lying. Director KIM Jin-hwang made the film at a time when he was close to entering adulthood and had many concerns, just like the lead character Wan-ju. For this reason, Wan-ju reflects the life and values of director KIM. 

 

Bystander received much attention from its screenplay stage. They shot the film in 24 installments from December 29th to January 26th. Supplementary shooting was conducted at the end of February. All of the shooting was done within Seoul such as Shinsu-dong, Yeongdeungpo and Shinchon. Even though the hero has to move many times in the film, his space did not matter. “I wanted to focus on the situations or feelings of characters rather than spaces,” director KIM explained. Therefore in the film, scenes involving Wan-ju account for more than 90% of the film. This made the director have high expectations for the actor. KIM wanted an actor with tastes similar to his own who could become his partner. So he cast PARK Jong-hwan who starred in Intruder. In addition, Director KIM endeavored to create a liberal atmosphere to help him make the best of his strengths. This is because he needed a different approach to directing actors in feature films unlike short films. KIM concentrated on the realistic expression of the actors’ feelings rather than the projection of their personalities.  

 

“I love and would like to make films which make viewers want to know the next sequence,” director KIM said. Will he accomplish his goal? Bystander is a drama, but at the same time, the film feels much like a thriller. In addition, the film interestingly digs into irony in lies and truths. Bystander asks audiences whether or not they are happy in a world of deceit where the border between truth and lie is blurred.